Nabi--Kid-Friendly Tablet

Parents aren't the only ones who love tablets these days - kids are wild for them too. But I've been privy to the look of absolute fear on plenty of parents' faces as they hand off their precious tablets to their youngsters. They've spent hundreds of dollars on their iPads or Android tablets and now are worried that the kids will break them, get their fingerprints all over them, accidentally move or remove things, or have access to something they shouldn't be seeing. Enter, the new Nabi tablet that provides families with a tablet that's full-functioning for parents yet kid friendly in terms of both hardware and software--all for a very affordable $199.

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Nabi is solidly built and has a rugged rubber bumper so it can take knocks and falls. Right out of the box it's ready for the kids: On the home page there's large icons for the apps and it's pre-loaded with fun games (yes, Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds - as well as 13 others), 30 educational books , Netflix, Laurie Berkner music, and a condensed, kid-friendly Nabi app store (don't worry parents, you have to input a password whenever they want to purchase something). It also gives kids access to websites that have been curated to ensure they're appropriate for them. Nabi has a built-in camera which lets boys and girls snap photos and then seamlessly create books starring themselves. Altogether, it comes with approximately $150 worth of content.

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And what's really great about Nabi is that when it's handed back over to mom, it can be put it into "Mommy Mode" which lets it act as a regular Android tablet (full Internet surfing, more apps, regular email, etc.). In this mode, there's also a larger App Zone for pushing additional content to the kiddie mode to give children's new experiences without nagging.

In my opinion, Nabi fills a necessary void in the tablet market-one that's both satisfying for adults and enriching and versatile for kids. Whether your children use it as a game console, movie theater, learning tool, or art studio, you can feel comfortable putting it in their hands.